Greinke whiffs 12, D-backs beat White Sox
PHOENIX — Zack Greinke struck out a seasonhigh 12 and came within one out of a complete game as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago White Sox 5-1 on Monday night.
The ace right-hander gave up four hits and improved to 5-0 in his last six starts.
The crowd booed loudly when manager Torey Lovullo walked to the mound to pull Greinke (6-2) after Jose Abreu’s two-out double in the ninth.
Daniel Descalso hit a three-run homer and Paul Goldschmidt added a solo shot for the Diamondbacks during their sixth victory in seven games.
• Yankees 4, Royals 2 — At New York: Didi Gregorius, Brett Gardner and Chris Carter homered, and New York beat Jason Vargas again in defeating Kansas City.
A reversed call in the seventh inning kept the Yankees ahead and enabled Michael Pineda (5-2) to top Vargas for the second time in a week. The Royals, with the worst record in the AL, have lost five of seven.
Vargas (5-3) began the day with a 2.03 ERA, tied for second-best in the majors. But the lefty fell to 0-7 lifetime against the Yankees when he was tagged by Gardner and Gregorius, the only lefthanded hitters in New York’s lineup.
• Astros 1, Tigers 0 — At Houston: Brad Peacock and three relievers combined on a one-hitter, and Jose Altuve provided the offense with an RBI double as Houston nipped Detroit.
Peacock was solid moving out of the bullpen to make a spot start for injured ace Dallas Keuchel. In his first start since September, Peacock allowed the lone hit and struck out eight in 4 1/3 innings. He was lifted after walking Tyler Collins in the fifth.
Chris Devenski (3-2) took over and pitched 2 2/3 innings before Will Harris worked the eighth. Ken Giles struck out two in the ninth for his 12th save, allowing the Astros to bounce back after being swept by Cleveland last weekend.
• Twins 14, Orioles 7 — At Baltimore: Max Kepler homered and drove in four runs, Miguel Sano and Jorge Polanco each had a careerhigh four hits and Minnesota roared back to beat Baltimore.
The Twins trailed 5-0 in the second inning and 6-2 entering the fifth before cranking up the offense against Ubaldo Jimenez and an ineffective Orioles bullpen. Tyler Wilson (2-2) gave up six runs in 1 1/3 innings.
• Rockies 8, Phillies 1 — At Philadelphia: Jeff Hoffman struck out seven and tossed three-hit ball over seven innings to lead Colorado over Philadelphia.
Hoffman (2-0) also had his first big league hit and the National League-leading Rockies continued to cruise away from home. They are best in the majors with a 167 road record and are 5-2 on this 10-game trip, their longest of the season.
• Reds 5, Indians 1 — At Cincinnati: Scott Feldman struck out a season-high nine while ending Cincinnati’s long stretch of ineffective starts, and Scott Schebler homered for the third straight game in leading Cincinnati past Cleveland. The Reds took the opener of the annual intrastate series. The teams play two games in Cincinnati followed by two in Cleveland. The Indians had won their last four at Great American Ball Park and six straight overall in the Ohio series.
• Braves 5, Pirates 2 — At Atlanta: Matt Adams hit a two-run homer in his second start since being traded to Atlanta, and Ender Inciarte had a career-high five hits as the Braves beat Gerrit Cole.
Brandon Phillips also homered for the Braves, who have won eight of 11.
• Angels 3, Rays 2 — At St. Petersburg, Fla.: Jefry Marte scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the seventh inning to help Los Angeles beat Tampa Bay.
The Angels, who have won six of eight, pushed across the decisive run without a hit against relievers Jumbo Diaz (0-3) and Ryne Stanek. After walking Mike Trout intentionally to load the bases with two outs, Stanek threw a ball in the dirt while facing Albert Pujols, allowing Marte to score easily.